This is what a slump looks like. 

You finally get enough hitting, and your pitching caves.

You finally get good pitching, and your offense goes cold.

You get pitching and offense, and your defense lets you down.

Last night, it was b: good pitching, cold offense.

Martin Perez was coming off a miserable ten-hit, seven-earned-run outing in which he lasted just 3.1 innings. 

He appeared to be heading to the Martin Perez of old, which means, not very reliable. But last night he was very good. Six innings, three hits, two runs. In fact, it was just the two-run homer he gave up in the fifth that did him in. The Rangers leaky bullpen even held tight.

That’s when you know you are going bad. When the Rangers bullpen doesn’t allow a run and they still lose. In fact, the Rangers bullpen was perfect last night. Nine up, nine down. And that included Jose Can You See Them Score Runs Off Me Leclerc.

All the Rangers cold offense could muster was a solo homer from Leody Taveras in the third. Once again, the Rangers had chances. 

The stranded a two-out walk in the first. A one-out double in the second. A no-out double in the third, right after Taveras’s leadoff homer. 

The real killer was the sixth. Seager leads off with a double and Lowe walks. They stayed right there. 

The stranded a one-out single in the seventh. 

A single, a walk, and some bad baserunning in the eighth produced no runs.

That’s what a slump looks like. Six hits. Seven runners left on base. And left on base is the approporiate term. 

The Rangers haven’t even been moving runners over. Not productive outs. No groundballs to second to move the runner from second to third. No sac flies to move runners. No bunting. Just planting trees on the bases and cutting them down at the end of the inning.

That’s really what a slump looks like.

The Rangers need to start making little things happen when they have the chance because the big things are eluding them now.

Do that, and that is what a hot streak looks like.

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